President Woodrow Wilson tabbed Hoover the head of the U.S. Food Administration. Hoover worked endlessly to put out messages of food conservation. He even became eponymous; a new word was coined—”hooverize”—meaning to save in the interests of the larger economy and the country. While considered an effective administrator, sometimes he faced criticism for his blunt and heavy-handed manner.

He later served on the Supreme Economic Council and became economic advisor to President Woodrow Wilson at the Versaille Peace Conference. He was considered so effective in these roles that President Wilson pegged Hoover as a worthy successor. Among those who supported him for president in 1920 was future opponent Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the navy.

Hoover announced in March 1920 that he was a Republican, though he went on to elaborate that he wanted the party to adopt certain positions. But the conservative Republicans feared his dalliances with Progressivism, and he was not seriously considered for the 1920 nomination.